Original Article via Paul Maryniak, East Valley Tribune
Don’t anticipate President Trump’s “skinny budget” becoming law; expect continued acrimony between the leadership of both major parties in Congress and hope the White House develops a strategy for dealing with rogue nations and other international security threats.
Those were the thoughts echoed by two local members of Congress on opposite ends of the political spectrum who participated in a 75-minute dialogue during the East Valley Partnership’s annual Statespersons Luncheon last week.
Both second-term Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, whose district includes Phoenix, and freshman Republican Andy Biggs, whose district includes a large part of the East Valley, shared a surprising number of views about what they see – and aren’t seeing – in Washington, D.C.
In some ways, it may not be surprising that the two found agreement on so many points despite their widely disparate political views, since Sinema and Biggs were both state legislators for about a decade.
Both bemoaned the lack of bipartisanship in both chambers of Congress, but said that was largely driven by the party leadership and that relationships between lower-level representatives were often on friendlier terms. They also said TV focused on the bickering because that’s what producers find more interesting.
“TV prefers a train wreck, and Congress will provide one every day,” Sinema said, adding that some of the partisan moves by her party’s leaders in the Senate have left her “heartbroken” because they will continue to thwart cooperation on the big issues that Congress should resolve.
In some ways, it may not be surprising that the two found agreement on so many points despite their widely disparate political views, since Sinema and Biggs were both state legislators for about a decade.
Both bemoaned the lack of bipartisanship in both chambers of Congress, but said that was largely driven by the party leadership and that relationships between lower-level representatives were often on friendlier terms. They also said TV focused on the bickering because that’s what producers find more interesting.
“TV prefers a train wreck, and Congress will provide one every day,” Sinema said, adding that some of the partisan moves by her party’s leaders in the Senate have left her “heartbroken” because they will continue to thwart cooperation on the big issues that Congress should resolve.
